One has to wonder how much damage will be inflicted on all parties before this Phoenix Coyotes situation is resolved.
No matter what they said, no matter how confusing the particulars of the still undecided outcome of the court case to decide the fate of the Phoenix Coyotes, one can't help but wonder how in the world it came to this.
Though the day-long proceedings ended with no decision the push seemed to be for yet another round of mediation, perhaps a last chance window of opportunity for the two sides before it moves out of their hands.
Here's National Hockey League commissioner Gary Bettman, commissioner of a major sports league sitting in a bankruptcy courtroom wedged between his public relations man, Frank Brown, and his principal legal operating officer, Bill Daly, facing off against a man -- Research in Motion co-founder Jim Balsillie -- who should be the kind of owner the league would be only too happy to embrace.
Instead the commissioner is hoping that the judge's ruling doesn't go against him AND that he got out in time to fly to Pittsburgh where he might be required to present the Stanley Cup to the Detroit Red Wings on what could be the penultimate night of the 2008-09 season. Should he not get there in time -- and the proceeding was nowhere near over when he left -- it will be a moment that will live in sports infamy, a commissioner who missed his sport's shining moment because he had to show up for court.
Balsillie, who was not in court, but ably represented by enough lawyers and legal opinions to fill Copps Coliseum, also took some hits at least in regards to some of his legal arguments.
Balsillie has also taken a few out-of courtroom hits from the NHL, but even if Bettman wins this fight he will have taken the more brutal beating.
First off, he's still in court. Bettman, we are told, privately expressed confidence on numerous occasions that the case would never get this far, that the court would recognize the league's argument that the NHL controls the Phoenix Coyotes and therefore controls the franchises destiny. The league position was that it shouldn't even be in Judge Redford T. Baum's courtroom. Chalk that up as one expensive and embarrassing loss.
Beyond that Bettman had to hear his battery of lawyers defend questions from a judge as to whether his league always follows its own constitution and bylaws. It didn't matter how they answered, the painfully embarrassing moment was that the question had to be asked. But when they did answer they had to defend a reasonably long list of franchise moves that appeared to be a result of brokered deals and backroom machinations rather than a step-by-step process governed by the league's bylaws and written constitution. The lawyers relied on a collection of carefully worded responses that were based on "board decisions," "expedited decisions" and, "maybe," extraordinary circumstances, legalese employed to gloss over a long history of backroom dealings that range from everything from the Norris family owning two teams to teams lending money to each other for questionable franchise dealings to the likes of people like "Boots" DelBiaggio and questionable vetting practices of him, the behind the scenes machinations of former Nashville owner (and current Minnesota owner) Craig Leipold and Los Angeles Kings owner Phil Anschutz and onto the very questionable and seemingly unstable financing of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Not exactly a testament to doing things by the book and hardly something any league would want to see entered into the public record. And for the record, still no definitive answer regarding what the Leafs will do with their one-man, one-vote, something the league has been desperately hoping to not even admit exists.
And it got worse.
Judge Baum seemed highly skeptical regarding the league's contention that it can't make a move based on an inability to adjust the 2009-10 schedule and he seemed downright incredulous regarding the interest and perhaps even the viability of the league's oft-stated "four offers" to keep the team in Phoenix. He threw around words like "hearsay" and employed a line of questioning that implied the league has in the past made provisions for extraordinary circumstances that benefited other owners looking to divest themselves of their franchises but appeared to be dragging its collective feet on Balsillie's offer.
"This old judge is not that excited about expressions of interest," the judge said in what was a clear rebuke of a league-spun tale regards a definitive future for the Coyotes in the desert. "You either make an offer or you don't".
Shortly after that the league went after one of its "friend of the NHL" filers, the National Football League. NHL lawyers questioned the business health of that league because there is no NFL team in Los Angeles. Rest assured that will not sit well in the offices of Bettman's New York neighbours, the NFL.
It went on for hours and one has to wonder not only where it will go next, but how much damage will be inflicted on all parties before there is a resolution.
As we stated in an earlier column it appears to be a battle to the death with neither side likely to give up no matter what the result of the bankruptcy court proceedings and that appears to be on them.
One could get the sense Tuesday (as well as several other in-court sessions) that Judge Baum wants the warring factions to settle the issue without his ruling on the merits of the respective cases. He expressed regret that the parties "let him down" regarding a lack of economic impact numbers in their presentations regarding what relocation and non-relocation would offer and questioned what the cost of a relocation "fee" might be and whether or not it would be applied fairly.
He even went so far as to say he would lean toward the NHL's point of view if they would deal fairly with Balsillie. "As I sit here right now," the judge said, "as long as they do it reasonably and not arbitrarily and not with spite toward Mr. Balsillie I'm not sure they (the league) don't have the right to (veto the move to Hamilton) so long as it is fair."
It was clearly a push toward a negotiated settlement and he even allowed a league-proposed $100 million relocation fee to gain credence in the proceeding.
Still, the possibility of a "come let us reason together" session seems unlikely and one has to wonder why.
Clearly the judge feels there is a deal that needs to be made here, a deal that might benefit the creditors, satisfy the Balsillie group and, perhaps, result in a conclusion the NHL could, over time, live with, but neither side seems willing to propose one let alone try and make it happen.
The judge also hinted, sometimes strongly, that a deal would be in the best interest of all parties, particularly because to not make one would be expensive, time consuming and plunge the NHL into issues of law that it might not be willing to accept.
Could it happen?
It's too soon to say and given the makeup of the principal parties involved and the blows -- legal and verbal -- that they have landed to date neither side seems willing to find a solution other than to have his gloved fist raised in victory, be he both bloodied and bowed.
Yet these are smart men and one gets a sense their lawyers can read the messages the judge is trying to send even if they won't.
It would be Rubik's Cube-like in its complexity, but it would also be in the best interest of Bettman, Balsillie, the NHL and all the aiding parties to come to some kind of agreement before the court imposes something that's not likely to end the beatings or satisfy the combatants.
And from what we've seen so far the price -- financial and professional -- for proceeding down that path is a cost the NHL cannot afford to pay.
